Intel Powered ECS TM105A Android Tablet [Review]

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Elite-group Computer Systems (ECS) recently launched two Android tablets in Pakistan. Packed with Intel Atom processors these tablets are available in 7-inch and 10.1-inch sizes and will be sold through Intel’s retail network in Pakistan.

We managed to get our hands on the 10.1″ ECS TM105A tablet and here is a short review we prepared for you guys.

Design & Build quality:

The ECS TM105A gets most of its design inspiration from the Nexus 10, though it doesn’t have the front facing speakers and has a sliver bezel. The tablet dimensions are 272.9mm x 174.4mm and it is 13.25mm thin. It weighs 685 grams, making it extremely hard to hold in one hand for a longer period.

On the front we have 10.1″ multi-touch capacitive TFT screen, with a resolution of 1280×752 pixels or 160ppi, which is quite low for such a big screen. Other than that the tablet has very poor viewing angles, the big size of the screen makes it worse especially when you are watching videos. Another drawback is the low sunlight visibility.

Just above the screen in the top left corner there’s 0.3-megapixel camera for video calling along with microphone. The camera also has a blue LED which turns on when you are using the camera.

The silver coated frame has all the ports on the left side, which includes; microSD card slot, mini-HDMI port, 3.5mm headphones jack, USB and charging ports. The power key along with volume rocker is placed on the top.

The soft touch matte finish on the back features a primary 2-megapixel camera on the top right and two speakers at the bottom along with the Intel trademark in the center. The matte finish ensures a comfortable holding and prevents from slipping the device but its a finger print magnet. The good thing is that you can easily remove the smudges.

Check below the images of Intel ECS 105A:

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tablet-back

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Hardware Inside:

The hardware specifications of this device aren’t very impressive. TM105A is packed with Intel Atom Z2460 Medfield SoC, featuring a single core 1.6GHz processor. It also packs a 1GB DDR2 RAM along with 16GB on internal storage which you can expand with microSD card upto 32GB.

The tablet is powered by 6000mAh battery. It also features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 along with G-sensor and Ambient Light Sensor.

Operating System and Performance:

TM105A comes with Android 4.0.4 ICS out of the box, which is really an outdated operating system. Most of the recent devices feature at least Android Jelly Bean 4.1. ECS hasn’t done any customizations in the operating sytem so all you get is the stock version with the regular applications. Good news is that the device comes pre-installed with Google Play, so you don’t have to worry about installing applications you love.

The mediocre hardware and outdated OS makes the device very laggy and you will notice it everywhere. The device also has some serious software compatibility issues, like force termination of certain applications, including the stock browser and frequent device reboots. I am not sure if its due to Intel processor as most of the Android applications have binaries compiled for ARM.

You can run almost every resource hungry application on it with lowest settings, I have tested the performance by playing some 3D games like Asphalt 8, Real Racing 3 etc on it which runs great but not as smooth I want it to be. On the other hand VoIP applications like Skype, Viber and WhatsApp work flawlessly.

Have a look at some of the benchmarks, which aren’t so impressive either:

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Camera and Video Calling:

This tablet features a primary 2-megapixel camera and a 0.3-megapixel front facing camera for video calling. Unfortunately both the cameras preform very poor. Colors are washed out and images are blurred. The primary 2-megapixel fixed focus camera seems to do a little better in sun light but indoor image results are way below the bar. It can also record VGA videos but just like the still images videos are also blurry.

The video-calling experience on this device isn’t so fascinating either. The other party can only see a washed out pixelated image.

The stock camera applications doesn’t offer much options to play with. Also the huge size of tablet makes it very difficult to take images or record video.

Check below the sample pictures taken by ECS105A:

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Click on images to view the original size and quality

Battery life:

TM105A is powered by a 6600mAh battery, which according to company offers you a 7 hours continuous video playback. However, the battery didn’t live up to the expectations and in our tests it ran out of juice after approximately 2.5 hours of video playback.

The battery can last for a single day for normal users, but those who love to play games or browse the web — might have to recharge it multiple times in a day.

The battery takes almost 2-3 hours to completely charge. It merits mentioning here that the tablet doesn’t support USB charging, so you have to rely only on the charger provided with it.

Pricing and Availability:

ECS TM105A is available all over Pakistan, through Intel’s retail network for a price of Rs. 22,000. Currently the device is available only in black color and it comes with a 3-6 months manufacturer warranty, which you can claim at any Intel support center in Pakistan.

Final Words:

Over the time, the Chinese brands have captured most of the Tablet market. Its not about Pakistan only but the fact is that many other developing countries are giving Samsung, Lenovo and Sony a tough time.

The ECS/Intel tablet, with all its better build quality as compared to “Chinese Tablets” available in the same price range, is seemingly betting on its brand name and not the specifications.

Chinese tablets – with almost same price tags – from Ainol & Apex feature better hardware such as quad-core processors, bigger RAM, better screen with gorilla glass protection and the latest OS installed on them.

And this is where TM105A doesn’t stand a chance.

TM105A, however, can get positive reviews for its better build quality, authorized warranty and the brand name.

 

Want to know how to use WhatsApp on Laptop? Click on the link and read the article then.


    • don’t even think about wasting money on evo tab u will not even able to post any comment ever again.

      • lol this reply made my day.

        Well evo tab “is” one of the chinese tabs but i agree, its more horrendous than anything we can find from the market in similar price range.

  • THIS TABLET SUPPORTS USB CHARGING .. I say this since I am using it and charge it from my laptop via USB cable.

  • You can buy Google Nexus 7 Tablet, 7 inch 1280×800 resolution screen ,
    1.2 GHz Quad Core,1GB RAM , Nvidia Tegra 3 GPU.
    16 GB Model for 20,500 PKR and 32 GB Model for 23,500 PKR with 1 Year Warranty from Hafeez Center Lahore.

      • I also have this tablet but dude seriously you are showing this in real bad light by not telling bit rate just format. further more as much I dislike this tablet due to it’s old os and frequent crashes you can’t find any good tablet in this price range. Chinese CPU based tabs have serious over heating issues. And they are also not reliable.

        • Here at ProPakistani we try our best to provide unbiased reviews, and leave the choice to our readers — to buy or not to buy a gadget after reading all its pros and cons. If you feel this review is missing some details, please list them.

          P.S: I haven’t used any “Chinese” tablet yet which has some “Serious” overheating issues. Can you please name the make and model of the tablet you used which had this “serious” issue? As per my experience all the latest gadgets generate excessive heat, but on the other hand lag/crashes and poor hardware are “serious” issues.

          • ainol ramos etc all use chinese CPU which are cheap because they are inferior in quality. Further more chinese tablets available in local market are quite cheap and inferior in quality if you have ever imported or bought stuff from china you will know what i mean. Ramos also use intel processors in its new tablets the i series but i am sure greedy Pakistani distributors will never import that.Still you haven’t mentioned the bit rate of your video playback nor you have compared it to any-other tablet you should learn something from other gadget review websites and compare logically.

            • Bit Rate? Does it really matter to discuss it? Ever heard of MX Player, there is no need to rely on the hardware any more and I am not sure what exactly is your point. The file we have played on it was 1080p, 23fps with a bit rate of 2140kbps and it worked fine. Sorry we have returned the review unit so can’t check any other formats with different “Bit Rates”.

              If you clearly read the title, this isn’t a comparison — its just a simple review though I would love to read your “logical comparison”.

              I am afraid it seems like you are paid by some company to promote the tabs with Intel processors, bashing the low cost Chinese tabs without any actual information.

              Again, our job is to provide an unbiased review, its up to you to decide which device would be better for you according to your needs.

              • First of all you never wrote details of the review in your article after repeated questioning you responded to that and what playback time you expect from 1080p video at 23 fps with a bit rate of 2140kbps?.You have quite low knowledge about Chinese tablets.why because you stayed all your life in Pakistan or perhaps never saw any good stuff what china makes.Intel does not pays me anything but i wish they had. If you come to know anyone at intel pls tell them about my comments . lol .
                I seriously dont like ics os on this tablet as its quite old. Not all tablets have chinese cpu or intel ones.If you knew some tablets from china with samsung and mediatek or nvidia cpu you might never had made this dumb remark that intel pays me to show their product in good light!

                • I never said Intel pays you, I said “Some company”. چور کی داڑھی میں تنکا؟
                  So first you were blaming China tablets for their “inferior quality” and now you have put all the blame to the importers/distributors.

                  As I said earlier, If you don’t like the review — write one yourself explaining why this tablet is better than China brands. We would love to publish it here at ProPakistani.

                  • dude what you mean by some company?
                    “”promote the tabs with Intel processors.”” you obviously meant intel!چور کی داڑھی میں تنکا؟
                    i said Chinese CPU based tabs NOT chinese tabs!

                    چور کی داڑھی میں تنکا؟

                    yes if i get any product which has no reviews on ProPakistani i will write its review.

        • You are making an aimless fuss. What exactly do you mean by Chinese CPU based tablets? There are only a handful of processor & SOC makers. None of them produce inferior goods regardless of country of manufacture. Its obvious that any brand, big or small, will carry one of these chips. You can debate build quality, hardware choices etc of low cost tabs. BUT not core components like CPUs.
          btw, devices will passive cooling will run hot due to extended duration of use. Get over it. And stop using Wikipedia as your source of information.
          You uttered some baloney, and now trying to defend yourself instead of admitting that you were wrong.

          • yes this low knowledge i expected from People of my country who never been to China nor know why Chinese never buy their own cheap products except real poor ones.


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